Notes from the bench

Making some funky earrings today and ordered some more colored wire to make some other jewelry. Drinking chai and trying to work but this has been one weird week. Lost Ed McMahon, David Carridine, Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett. As we get older I suppose death becomes a more frequent and real thing as we lose our idols. I, for one, was never really "into" any of the aforementioned yet I feel their deaths as if personal and offer my condolences to all the families involved. It's a sad thing to lose a family member and I guess after losing my grandmother just a couple of months ago it hits closer to home than usual. My immediate and extended family has also had to deal with illnesses, deaths, job losses, injuries and so many other things lately and I am so grateful to have such support on both sides of the family - mine and my husband's. Of course we've also had good things and are looking forward to two new additions as well. Such is the circle of life . . .

Blessings to all of you and look for new pictures later today of some fun jewelry to cheer you up or give you a distraction.

Blogging on my weight loss

Just a bit of blogging on my weight loss. I started out in 2004 at 247 and am now down to 182, I had been down to 175 in 2006 but then gained back. This time I'm working out and wanted to post some pictures.













Even though I was 175 in the photo of me at easter in the pink sweater and skirt, I was not working out. My face and body are much more toned now in the bottom two pictures.






In the Green outfit in April I was down to around 190 and now I'm down around 182. It's coming off really slow this time but I know I'm gaining muscle.

Tree of Life Order Form

Copy this into an e-mail send it off to meleenia@aol.com. I will fill out the estimate/date of delivery, down payment info and contact you for payment information.

Tree of Life Order Form

Name:
Phone Number:
Address:

E-mail:


Estimate:
Estimated date:
Down Payment:


Tax/delivery:

Total Due on Delivery:


1. Outer ring Copper ($50) Silver ($60) Gold Filled ($65)


2. Tree Copper Silver Gold Filled

Copper/silver Combo ($60) Silver/Gold filled combo ($65)

3. Number of Branches 1-10
4. Birthstone/month combos or stone for each branch – cross off branches not needed:
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.


Misc. options – root stones/colors etc.

Friday Morning Chai

Good morning. I love sitting here at my desk sipping my Friday Morning Chai - well, it's Oregon Chai but since I can't get it at Wawa anymore (hint, hint) I have to make my own. So much to tell, where to begin??
Tonight I will finally get my First Friday Showing at Salon Fin - long awaited since my sudden and serious bout with pneumonia last December that landed me in the hospital for almost a week. Festivities start around 5 PM.
Salon Fin is located at Frederick and Mary Sts. in Lancaster, PA nearby to F&M College.

Can't make it? Then come find me Saturday at Hospital Day in the Park in Ephrata. The show starts at 8AM - bring your own Chai. I'm thinking I'm not going to get to set up today because of the weather (hey-it's OLD 97s on XPN - yayay!! sorry, distracted) so I'll be starting out real early tomorrow morning.

New jewelry! Check this out - made a pendant for my mom and people are asking questions - what is it and how do I get one? This is a tree of life pendant which depicts my mother's children and grandchildren in the branches. The mother's birthstone surrounds the children's. So that's me, the emerald between the amethyst and my kids are the crystal between the emeralds -get it?? This can be done a number of ways - with children's birthstone color between the mother's or both the parents, can be in silver, gold, or a mix, or even copper come to think of it. Price is $50 for copper, $60 for silver and $65 for gold filled or a mix of gold and siver. Mix of silver and copper would be at the $60 silver price. There can be up to 10 branches, with the option of having dangles put on for additional grandchildren - kind of like apples hanging from the tree! The crystals are all swarovski and I have information for what colors go with which birth months. Don't have a lot of children? I only have two but you can do the two branches with your children and leave the rest blank for the future, adding drops with your grandchildren as they come along. Or use drops to signify your nieces and nephews.

Options include putting the Grandmother's/Grandfather's or Mother's/Father's stone color in the roots as well. You can use the tree to signify people in your family, the season of the year or design your own tree to signify healing, strength or the journey of your life. The tree of life is an ancient design used for many purposes.

According to wikipedia - The concept of a many-branched tree illustrating the idea that all life on earth is related has been used in science, religion, philosophy, mythology and other areas. A tree of life is variously, a) a mystical concept alluding to the interconnectedness of all life on our planet, b) a metaphor for common descent in the evolutionary sense, and c) a motif in various world theologies, mythologies and philosophies.

Design your own - have fun! The tree can be just a beautiful using a combined wire motif without any crystals - or choose your own natural stones to be used. I have available a number of different semiprecious stones you can choose from in chips, rounds and other shapes.

That's it for now. Come see me this weekend or e-mail me for a form to order your own tree! Keep me busy and out of trouble this summer!

Friday May 22

Day after my 43rd birthday. It's been a long busy week bookended by long busy weekends. I'm tired, been working out every day but hardly had time to make jewelry. So much to do, so little time. Next show is the Ephrata Hospital Auxilliary Craft Show June 6th. I'll have my best bud Ian helping again, he had such a great time in Elizabethtown. The show is on the hospital grounds, hope to see you there.

I'm Back

Sorry I've been away, I've been so busy these past few Fridays. I did get to see the Bacon Brothers, the following Friday I had classes down in Philadelphia and learned how to make a new bracelet and a pendant, then had to get ready for a show last Friday and today I'm getting ready to take some jewelry down to Salon Fin on the corner of Frederick and Mary. I will be displaying my jewelry there in between shows. There is talk of a First Friday event on June 5th and on June 6th I'll be in Ephrata at Ephrata Hospital's Festival and craft show. Most of the summer I'll be idle until Labor Day weekend when I'll do the Roots Craft show on Saturday, then the Landis Woods Art Show the last Saturday of the month. Other than those shows, I will be planning my open house for November. The show I do in Philadelphia at the Unitarian Church has been cancelled this year. So very sad as my Father and I do that show together every year and it's so nice to spend time with him and his friends.

I recently designed a Mother's Tree of Life Pendant based on many of the Tree of Life pendants I have seen, using birthstone colors in swarovski crystals to signify each child and grandchild for my mom. I'm thinking of making these on a per order basis but haven't decided on a price yet for them. I also have not yet decided what kind of cord to use as the necklace part.

So until next time, that's the update for W Jewelry designs. I'll be posting pictures of the new designs next week sometime.

Be well, and see ya at the Springsteen concert tonight!!

Tribute to Grandmom

I was blessed to have my Grandmom until this past Sunday, when she passed away. She was pretty healthy up until the past few weeks, lived and died at home. She was an active woman who volunteered at the St. Anne's Senior center helping the "old People." When I asked how old the old people were to her, she would only laugh. She was just shy of 94 years old. She lived through the depression, had 8 children, many grandchildren and a boatload of greats. She remembered everyone on their birthdays and was loved by all. She accepted everyone as they were, never judging, always loving. I am sharing some photos of her today from her 84th birthday party, I doubt that many of my family has even seen these photos but this is how I like to remember her, active, healthy and entertaining all. She always smiled, laughed, and told it just like it was. Her funeral was sad only for us who will miss her. She had a good life and as good a death I'm told as she could.

This is most of the clan, it was really difficult to get everyone to stand still even for a moment.

Grandmom surrounded by 5 of her daughters, Aunt Queenie, my mom Edna, Aunt Annamay, Aunt Roseanne and Aunt Marion.

Some of the family dancing, Aunts Queenie and Marion are in this shot, Rocky, Mary and Dana

Here's some of my family, sister Brenda, mom Edna, sister Janet, cousin Mary, me, Kristen, and niece Kathryn

Aunt's Annamay and Marion with Grandmom





Grandmom - we all love you. You set a wonderful example for being a woman, mother and role model. You gave back to the world much more than you were given, and you made the best of every moment. You will never be forgotten.

April 3, 2009 - Warning - Alex - spoiler alert!!

I worked on a birthday present for my niece today and finished it, let me know what you think. I loved this stone, purchased with no real project in mind other than what a great specimen it was. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.